Conwy council has admitted its legal bill in the fight to demolish Colwyn Bay pier is set to break the £250,000 mark.

The Daily Post discovered the huge legal bill after requesting a breakdown of the £660,000 figure quoted at last week’s full Conwy County Council meeting, for maintaining the severely dilapidated Victorian pier.

The breakdown, that covers a period of less than six years, also includes the amounts paid for security (£93,091), fencing (£68,206) and almost £42,000 preparing applications for demolition of the 115 year-old boardwalk.

The true total figure spent for the period up to when the report was recorded as £681,203.

However, it is the large legal fees which take up more than a third of the ‘upkeep’ figure that have caused most alarm.

A council source claims the final figure could be in excess of £400,000.

The council has been in a legal battle with former owner of the pier Steve Hunt since 2008.

He said: “There are lots of ways we would prefer to spend money rather than on legal fees.

“But Conwy County Borough Council's objective has always been to solve the problem of a derelict pier in a key location within a town that we’re working hard to regenerate, and to do this it is essential that we defend our ownership.”

Mr Hunt, who took over ownership of the pier in 2003, was the subject of bankruptcy proceedings instigated by Conwy County Borough Council in 2008.

The original debt pursued by the council was reportedly in the region of £5,000.